Also: moon dust, in-situ resource utilization, 3D-printed lunar base
Regolith is the loose soil on the Moon. Using it as a building material would avoid launching heavy materials from Earth.
Readiness: lab lab studies · prototype demonstrated objects · commercial products or buildings in real use · review summaries of other studies.
Cesaretti and colleagues 3D printed building blocks from lunar soil simulant for a moon outpost concept.
Built / tested: printed regolith blocks
As reported in: Cesaretti, Dini, De Kestelier et al. (2014). Building components for an outpost on the Lunar soil by means of a novel 3D printing technology. Acta Astronautica. doi:10.1016/j.actaastro.2013.07.034
Abstract only
Farries and colleagues reviewed sintering and melting regolith for lunar construction.
As reported in: Farries, Visintin, Smith et al. (2021). Sintered or melted regolith for lunar construction: state-of-the-art review and future research directions. Construction and Building Materials. doi:10.1016/j.conbuildmat.2021.123627
Abstract only